We are asked to define the term Commutative Property and give an example of a commutative operation and an operation that is not commutative. Let's do it! In real life there are times when the order of things matters. Think about shoes.

We cannot put shoes on in any order — a left shoe will not fit the right foot and a right shoe will not fit the left foot. There are also situations when the order of things is unimportant.

If we go shopping for groceries, it does not really matter in which order we unpack the groceries when we get home. The same thing often applies to mathematics. There are operations that are commutative, or performed in any order. One example would be multiplication.

4 \times 3 = 3 \times 4

Notice that

4

multiplied by

3

is the same as

3

multiplied by

4 .

There are also operations that we cannot perform in any order. In, for example, subtraction, the result will be different if we change the order of numbers.

7 - 10 \neq = 10 - 7

If we subtract

10

from

7,

we get

- 3 .

If we subtract

7

from

10,

we get

3 .

These results are different. This tells us that subtraction is not commutative.

Exercise

This Solution is Missing. Mathvizy Can Solve This Problem For You